


Where the treetops glisten (and children listen)

by manixzen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Babysitting, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Post-Hogwarts, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28102590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manixzen/pseuds/manixzen
Summary: When Andromeda goes out of town over the holidays, she needs someone to watch six-year-old Teddy. Determined to make it Teddy's best Christmas ever, Harry jumps at the chance, even if he is stuck co-babysitting with Draco Malfoy for the week.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 40
Kudos: 165
Collections: H/D Mistletoe Exchange 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OlianderWilde](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlianderWilde/gifts).



> Oliver, your prompts were so much fun, and I think I managed to squeeze them all in for you. I hope I've done them justice. <3
> 
> Thank you so much, M, for working with me along the way as I panicked several times and for all your wonderful suggestions. And thank you, L, for your excellent beta feedback at the end. I appreciate all your help and support! And, finally, E, thanks for all your help with answering all my brit-picking and scots-picking questions along the way.
> 
> And, of course, thanks to the wonderful mods for putting this together. I love our little gwb family so much and this was so fun to participate in!

Harry grabbed an extra jumper, cramming it into his leather duffle. Even with the extension charms, it was starting to get tight. Granted, his charms weren’t nearly as spacious as Hermione’s. He’d been disappointed to learn that the charm didn’t automatically grant a huge amount of space; intent and an ability to conceptualise space were required to manage the charm. At best, he’d managed to double the interior. He reminded himself that he only needed to pack for five days, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t pop back to Grimmauld Place if he forgot something, but he kept thinking about scenarios in which he’d need more things so he’d packed half his winter wardrobe at this point.

Harry looked around his room at Grimmauld Place, the feeling that he was forgetting something nagging his brain. 

He scanned the room, eyes sliding past the clothes strewn about on the floor, Quidditch magazines stacked up in the corner, and the worn furniture. His scan of the room stopped short when he saw the shopping bags near his bedside table. Teddy’s Christmas presents. Letting out a sigh of relief that he didn’t forget those, he grabbed the bags and shrunk the lot. He tugged open the zipper on his duffle just enough to shove them in. It took a bit of wrangling, but he managed to get them to fit.

There. He was ready. 

Harry looked around and patted his pocket for his wand before heading to the Floo. While the circumstances could have been better, Harry was looking forward to the next few days. 

Andromeda was off to Australia for the week to care for the sister of her late husband, Ted. They had been fairly close to Ted’s sister, Moira, and her family, even after she’d relocated to a warmer climate. After Ted died in the war, Andromeda tried to visit at least once a year, usually taking Teddy with her. Moira’s own husband had died a few years prior, and from what Harry could tell, they both found solace in their friendship as they navigated their new lives.

Unfortunately, this year, the visit wasn’t so pleasant. After heart surgery, Moira needed help and care around the house until her cousin was able to come out on Christmas day. Andromeda had offered right away, only after realising it wouldn’t be the best environment to bring her very energetic grandson. Harry immediately offered to help out. After years of trying to convince Andromeda that he was responsible enough to watch Teddy for an extended time, she finally caved.

Over the past few years, she had repeatedly insisted it wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, but that he was so young himself. Reminders that his parents had already had him by that age did nothing to dissuade her from insisting Teddy stay the night at home. Harry realised it was likely more to do with overprotectiveness than anything to do with Harry, particularly after losing all of her own family. Teddy was all she had left. So, Harry did his best to respect that and make himself content with taking Teddy out for day trips with the occasional babysitting when Andromeda had plans. So, when she’d agreed to let him watch Teddy for the week, Harry had been overjoyed, excited to spend some quality time with his godson. 

His excitement was only mildly dampened when he found out that Andromeda had also asked her nephew, who she'd slowly been building a relationship with since the war, to help out. He had no idea why she thought it’d be safer with the two of them there together. Their attempts at politeness in her company were transparent, at best. 

Well, he would have to figure out how to make it work, because there was no way he was letting Draco Malfoy have Teddy all to himself for the next five days, especially not Christmas morning.

* * *

Harry misjudged his jump slightly and landed at the end of the path to Andromeda’s cottage. A blanket of snow covered the ground, a strong contrast to the grey and damp London that Harry had just left behind. He breathed in deeply, the fresh cold air piercing his lungs. The Scots pines scattered about the large property had glistening fresh snow piled on the branches.

He loved it out there.

Andromeda’s cottage was far enough away from the nearest village to feel completely secluded, and it always gave Harry a sense of peace. Even better, its location, north of Hogsmeade, reminded Harry of winters spent at Hogwarts, filled with snow and ice and a welcome break from the incessant rain of England during the winter. He only hoped that peace wasn’t completely destroyed that week by the other house guest.

With that thought, he hoisted his duffle higher on his shoulder and trudged through the snow to the front door. After a quick spell to clean off his boots, he pushed open the door, a blast of warm air carried the smell of home-cooked food. A smile spread over his face.

“Andy,” he called. “I’m here.”

Teddy came peeling out of the kitchen. “Harry!”

“Oof.” Harry braced himself as Teddy threw himself into Harry for a hug. “You’re getting so big! You’re going to start knocking me over soon.”

Teddy beamed at the compliment. “I grew another inch! Wanna see?”

Harry chuckled and allowed Teddy to drag him through the sitting room and around the corner behind the stairs to the wall that was filled with various coloured marks, some newer with Teddy’s name and dates scrawled next to them, and others a bit more faded, from Tonk’s childhood. Andromeda had removed the whole wall and taken it with her when she moved into her new home. Harry doubted his chest would ever cease to ache as he watched Teddy’s growth next to the physical proof left of his mother’s presence. 

He buried the feeling deep and expressed nothing but excitement toward his godson and his new inch of height.

“Okay, kiddo. Let me drop off my bag and go see your grandma, so she can head out.” Harry ruffled the now black hair on Teddy’s head and headed toward the guest bedroom just around the corner. 

Harry entered the room and groaned. The full bed had been transfigured into two twins, pushed up against opposing walls. Apparently, he was sharing.

“Look, Harry! We made two beds so you can both stay in the room right next to me!” Teddy flopped down on the bed at the far wall with a bright smile on his face. “I can’t believe I get to spend Christmas with both of you! I’ll miss Grandma but she’ll have Aunt Moira, so she won’t be lonely. And we’re going to have so much fun! You and Draco are the best!”

Harry caught himself before grimacing and did his best to match Teddy’s smile. “Right you are! We’re going to have a blast!”

After ruffling Teddy’s hair, Harry threw his duffle on the bed by the window with a sigh and headed to the kitchen. Teddy bounced out of the room, yelling something about getting his room ready, whatever that meant.

When he got to the kitchen, he came to a halt by the threshold. The counter was full of food. Two casseroles were lined up, and Andromeda was pulling out a third.

“Expecting a village for dinner?” Harry asked, making his way over cautiously and peering at what appeared to be some sort of breakfast casserole.

Andromeda turned to him with a raised eyebrow as she placed the casserole on a large trivet. “Don’t think I don’t know you live on takeaway, Harry James Potter. I will not have my grandson living on pizza and fish and chips all week. I’ll leave you and Draco reheating instructions, but the spells are fairly simple.”

Well, they definitely weren’t going to starve.

“When’s Draco going to be here?” Harry asked.

“He’ll be here any minute. He’s coming straight from work,” she replied.

Harry nodded and poked at one of the other casseroles, unable to tell what it was. She swatted him with an oven mitt.

“This is chicken with herb dumplings, you can have some of this tonight for dinner. I’ll leave it under a warming charm. The rest we can put in the cooling pantry,” Andromeda said, clearing up the food scraps and grabbing a rag for clean up.

Harry grabbed the utensils and dishes she’d used for cooking and set them to wash in the sink with a spell and then helped Andromeda clean up the rest of the room as she filled him in on things he needed to know for the week. It wasn’t anything he didn’t know, but he could sense the tension radiating off her at leaving Teddy for the first time since he’d been born. Given the losses she’d endured in her life, he often had to remind himself that her overprotectiveness had nothing to do with him and everything to do with wanting to hold on to Teddy tight and never let go.

The sound of the Floo flaring to life came from the sitting room, and Harry heard Teddy clambering to greet Draco.

A moment later, Draco appeared at the doorway of the kitchen with a suitcase in hand. His robes were a bit rumpled, likely from sitting at a desk at the Ministry all day in whatever boring department he was working in those days. He seemed to change jobs every few months. Even with the dishevelled robes, though, he still managed to look far too posh, which only served to irritate Harry.

As Draco walked in the kitchen, he nodded to Harry stiffly while Teddy narrated all his feelings about having the two of them to himself over the holiday.

Harry knew Draco had grown closer to Andromeda and Teddy both since he had lost his own parents, his father sentenced to death for war crimes and his mother succumbing to illness after months at Azkaban. Harry had seen the toll that had taken on his former nemesis, and a part of him was glad that Andromeda and Draco had managed to work past their long-standing family issues. Another part of him hated that he now had to share his new found-family. Harry felt guilty every time he had the thought, but the feeling was there all the same. 

“Draco, why don’t you get yourself settled in the guest bedroom while I finish up the food. Then we can go over what you’ll both need to know,” Andromeda said with a smile as she began putting the casseroles in the cooling cabinet. 

Harry sat down at the table with Teddy while they waited, listening as Teddy filled him in on all his new friends at his local Muggle school. Harry could hardly believe he was already in Year 1, or Primary 1 as he was attending school in Scotland. It seemed like just a month ago he’d been learning how to walk.

Just as Teddy had got to listing the names of every other kid in his class, Draco reentered the kitchen.

“Potter,” Draco said, sitting at the far end of the table.

“No—Harry,” Teddy said with a melodramatic sigh.

Draco pursed his lips. “Right you are.”

Harry suppressed a smile, always glad when it was the other man being corrected. Teddy had spent the better part of the previous year breaking the two former school nemeses of old habits, insisting that they were all family and that family didn’t call each other by their last names. Both Harry and Draco had choked on their tea at that declaration, quite clearly not considering the other one family. But for the sake of Teddy, they worked at their outward animosity.

Before they could attempt an awkward conversation, Andromeda pulled up a chair on the side of the table, sat, and then handed a piece of parchment to Harry and Draco each.

“Teddy, dear, why don’t you go draw for a few minutes so that the grown-ups can talk?” Andromeda asked in a voice that made clear it wasn’t a request.

Teddy put up his customary complaints, but then headed off to his room as requested.

Harry looked back to Andromeda, seeing the lines of stress around her eyes; he hoped it was from concern over her sister-in-law and not at leaving him and Draco in charge of Teddy.

She gave them a small smile and gestured to the parchment. “At the top is Moira’s address and phone number. The phone number is also next to the phone in the hallway.”

Harry and Draco both nodded.

“I’ve made a schedule there so you know what times Teddy normally eats his meals. Make sure you stick to bedtime. Structure is really important for children.” Andromeda looked at Harry for a beat, and he felt his face flush. It wasn’t that he’d meant to ignore her instructions the last few times, they just got caught up in games. He glanced at Draco, seeing a smug smile playing at his lips, and fought back a retort.

“Understood,” Harry said, eyes only narrowing slightly in Draco’s direction.

“There should be enough food in the cooling cabinet for the week, but I’ve also gone shopping, so there’s plenty for sandwiches and snacks. Make sure he eats some fruits and vegetables every day.” This time Andromeda pinned Draco in a stare, and Harry suppressed a laugh having heard from Teddy at how Draco had let him have ice cream for dinner the last time he’d babysat. At the time, Harry had been a bit jealous at the reverence in Teddy’s voice as he’d recounted the evening, but now let himself feel a bit superior. At least he knew to make sure Teddy got balanced meals.

Andromeda continued to go through her directions. Harry had to suppress an eye roll at some of it. Obviously, he knew that Teddy needed to take a bath every other day. Others, he made sure to commit to memory: how to contact his friends if he wanted to have them over, what spells to use to hide the magical elements of the house if he did have friends over. Harry was glad to see those instructions had also been written on the parchment. He looked up at Draco during these instructions, wondering how the man felt about all Teddy’s Muggle friends from school.

After quite a few more instructions, Harry’s head was swimming. Surely it couldn’t be this difficult to keep a six-year-old alive for five days. Harry had watched him occasionally as a baby and toddler after all. And Teddy was an easy kid. He was usually so happy to have Harry around that he was happy doing anything. 

“Any questions?” Andromeda asked before taking a deep breath.

“We’ve got it. I promise,” Harry insisted.

“We’ll be fine,” Draco added.

She looked between the two of them and gave them a small smile. “I’m sure you will be. You can’t blame an old woman for worrying though.”

They stood and headed to the sitting room to say their goodbyes, and she called Teddy back out of his room before fussing with her suitcase. Harry could see the tension in her.

Teddy ran into the room and, seeing her ready to go, jumped into her arms for a hug. “I don’t want you to go,” he said, voice muffled against her stomach.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” she said, leaning over to kiss the top of his head.

She pulled back and took a look at her grandson.

“Okay,” she said to him sternly, but with warmth in her voice. “You, mister, are to behave yourself for Harry and Draco.”

“Yes, Grandma,” Teddy replied, seriously.

She smiled at him and bent down to give him another tight hug, before kissing him on the forehead.

“You’ll be back on Christmas, right?” he asked, voice small.

“Of course, munchkin. I promise.” She squeezed his shoulders.

He sniffled and nodded.

“You’re going to have so much fun you won’t even miss me,” she said, looking up at Harry and Draco with a smile.

Harry returned the smile. “Teddy, we’re going to have a blast, right?”

Draco leaned over to Teddy and whispered, “We’ll even give you chocolate.” Harry suppressed an eye roll. Of course he’d start bribing his cousin before Andromeda was even out of the house.

At that, Teddy bounced up, eyes wide.

“Do not make me regret this!” Andromeda laughed.

With that promise in the air, Teddy perked up and said his goodbyes to his grandmother with only a few more tears. Once they promised several more times that they’d be fine, Andromeda was on her way.

Teddy’s eyes were still brimming with tears after her departure, and Harry turned to him, determined that he could make his godson happy without bribing him with sugar. “What do you want to do first, Teddykins?”

“Harry, that’s not my name,” Teddy replied, as he always did at the funny nicknames Harry came up with for him.

“Of course,” Harry replied, expression serious. “What would you like to do first, Sir Tedward?”

Teddy burst out laughing, wiping a leftover tear away.

“Why don’t we colour for a bit and then we can play outside?” Harry offered, before leaning in to whisper, “We can play our super-secret dragon game.”

“Draco promised me chocolate,” Teddy said, eyes large. Draco crossed his arms, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

Harry pursed his lips. “We haven’t even had dinner yet.”

“Come on, Harry, just this once,” Teddy pleaded.

“Yeah, come on, Harry,” Draco said, raising an eyebrow.

Harry pushed down the rising indignation at Draco taking Teddy’s side almost immediately, realising that Draco was going to make him be the bad guy. Well, two could play at that game.

“Sounds great, Teddy,” Harry said, giving Draco a wide smile. “Why don’t we have some hot chocolate too?”

“Yay!” Teddy hollered, running to the kitchen. “Best day ever!”

* * *

“Harry!”

Harry grumbled, slowly opening one eye. It was pitch black in the room, and it took him a minute to get his bearings, remembering that he was in the guestroom at Andromeda’s.

“Harry, come on! It’s time to get up! We’re going to have so much fun!” Teddy grabbed his side and shook him.

“What time is it?” Harry mumbled through a yawn.

“It’s after six,” Teddy replied.

“Six in the morning?” Harry asked. It felt like the middle of the night.

“Yes, sleepyhead.” Teddy giggled and poked Harry in the side. “It’s morning.”

Harry blinked awake, remembering Andromeda’s schedule showed this as Teddy’s wake-up time.

“Don’t you need more sleep?” he asked, hopefully. “You stayed up awfully late last night.”

“Nope. I always wake up at six,” Teddy said, shaking Harry again. “Now come on!”

“Why don’t you wake up Draco? I’m sure he wants to play with you.”

“I tried, but he said to wake you up.”

“Of course he did.” Harry fumbled for his glasses and wand on the bedside table. He then cast the brightest Lumos he could, flooding the room with light, and then with a flick of his wrist, he sent the ball of light to float in the middle of the room.

Draco was sprawled out on the other bed, face down in his pillow, snoring lightly. They’d managed to avoid the awkwardness of sharing a room the previous night by passing out quickly in absolute exhaustion.

After far too much sugar and chocolate, Teddy hadn’t been able to wind down. They’d played and tried to run off the energy outside, but by bedtime, he was still spinning like a top and extremely averse to going to bed. They’d finally managed to get him in his pyjamas by turning it into a contest between the three of them. Harry made sure to go slow enough to let Teddy win since Draco was apparently competitive enough to need to beat out a six-year-old. Something for which Harry had made sure to give a very obvious eye roll.

Once pyjamas were on, they were able to bribe him to bed with the promise of several bedtime stories instead of just the one. At first, Harry and Draco both tried to vie for the position of story reader, but by story number ten, they were having more luck at putting themselves to sleep than Teddy. He was still wide awake. It was only after Draco had thought to go get one of Andromeda’s books on the History of Arithmancy that Teddy finally conked out. By then Harry and Draco were beyond exhausted. They didn’t bother cleaning up. Instead, they dragged themselves to bed and passed out within minutes.

“So, Teddy,” Harry said loudly. “What do you want to do this morning?”

Draco didn’t stir.

“Can we make pancakes for breakfast? With chocolate chips?” Teddy asked, his eyes bright.

Harry laughed. There was no doubt this was Remus Lupin’s son some days.

“I think we’re going to limit the chocolate intake today. How about some eggs and toast?” Harry said.

“Draco would let me have chocolate.”

Harry suppressed a sigh. It was far too early for negotiating with an energetic six-year-old.

“Well, you are welcome to wake Draco up and see what he has to say about it.”

Teddy looked at him for a beat and then launched himself at Draco.

“Draco! It’s time to get up!” Teddy shook his body as he had with Harry.

Harry yawned and flicked his wand to send over some clean clothes.

Draco mumbled something into his pillow as Teddy continued to assault him. When he didn’t wake up from the shaking, Teddy climbed on top of him. “Draco, wake up. Draco. Draco. Draco.”

Harry closed his eyes. As much as he enjoyed watching Teddy annoyingly wake up the other man, it was far too early for this level of noise and repetition. He continued getting dressed, sluggishly pulling on his jeans and socks.

Eventually, Draco rolled over, sending Teddy toppling to the side of him with a giggle. “I’m up! I’m up.” His hair was sticking up in several spots and his face had a long red line from the crease in his pillowcase. Harry caught himself staring for a beat too long, taken aback by how normal he looked, the poshness and snootiness falling away in his sleepy state. Harry shook his head to clear it and pulled on a warm wool jumper.

“Can I have pancakes with chocolate for breakfast?” Teddy asked, wasting no time.

“What?” Draco asked.

“Harry said to ask you if I could have chocolate chip pancakes,” Teddy said, a hopeful smile on his face.

“Oh did he?” Draco turned to look at Harry, squinting slightly from the bright Lumos still hanging in the air. Harry met his look and raised an eyebrow. Draco huffed and then said, “Well, I think chocolate chip pancakes sound wonderful.”

“YES!” Teddy jumped up and ran out of the room, presumably to the kitchen to await his chocolate fix.

“Are you kidding me?” Harry asked. After the chaos of last night, he couldn’t believe Draco would even consider letting him have more chocolate.

“A few days of a bad diet aren’t going to kill him,” Draco said, yawning.

“It might kill us,” Harry said under his breath.

“Well, if Teddy is too much for you, I’m sure I can handle things by myself.” Draco sat up and stretched his arms over his head.

Harry’s eyes narrowed. “He’s not too much for me.” With that, Harry flicked his wand to put out the Lumos, pitching the room back into darkness and headed for the kitchen. He was going to make the best chocolate chip pancakes Teddy had ever had. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting back in his chair, Harry took a breath and pushed his plate away. He was starting to realise he could no longer eat like a kid or even a teenager. He’d only made it through half a pancake before nausea kicked in. He’d gone extra sweet for Teddy’s sake, but his stomach wasn’t thrilled.

Teddy, on the other hand, had loved the pancakes with double chocolate chips and extra powdered sugar on top and was working his way through a second pancake. Harry made a mental note to have a casserole heated up for lunch before Draco could suggest otherwise.

On the other side of the kitchen table, Draco also was still going strong, and like Teddy, looked positively thrilled at the sugar-filled breakfast.

“So, Teddy, how do you feel about colouring for a bit?” Harry hoped he’d be okay with some less strenuous activities for the next few hours, as he sipped slowly on some water.

“Can I have friends over?” he asked, licking some powdered sugar off the back of his hand.

“Your friends from school?” Harry asked, remembering the list of phone numbers and directions that Andromeda had left them for having Muggle friends over.

Teddy nodded. “We could play outside in the snow.”

“That sounds lovely, Teddy,” Draco replied, before taking another bite. His plate was nearly cleared, and Harry found himself annoyingly impressed at his ability to live off pure sugar for nearly 20 hours straight.

“Yes! We can build snowmen and have snowball fights and build a snow fort,” Teddy exclaimed. His hair started to lighten as he ran through the list of all the things they were going to do until it was nearly a white blond.

Over the past few years, he’d learned more control of his Metamorphmagus ability. He was usually able to maintain his blue eyes and sandy brown hair, but when he got overly excited or overly tired, he would sometimes change without meaning to. He had a particular tendency to mirror the person he was with, also. That occasional lack of control was something which Harry usually enjoyed. He’d watch his godson’s hair take on a raven colour and his eyes a bright green, and he would look like he could be Harry’s son. But at the moment, he found himself bristling at the growing resemblance to a Malfoy.

Draco didn’t miss the alteration either, a smug smile overtaking his face.

“Hey Teddy,” Harry said, pointing up at his hair. “You’re not too tired to control it around your Muggle friends are you?”

Teddy’s now grey eyes widened, and they melted back to a soft blue, his hair following right after. “No. I can control it! I’ll just pay better attention.”

“Give him a break. There’s no one around right now,” Draco said, forking another piece of pancake.

“But he’ll need to if we’re going to invite his Muggle friends over,” Harry gritted out.

“I can control it! I can!” Teddy pleaded.

“It’s fine, Teddy,” Harry said, not wanting to start a fight. “I wasn’t suggesting you couldn’t. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t too tired.”

“‘M not too tired!” Teddy whined, actually sounding far too tired. Harry could feel the imminent meltdown coming. Teddy didn’t have them often anymore, but Harry knew he was overly tired today. 

“He’s fine,” Draco said, still mostly focused on his pancakes. “He can just wear a hat.”

That was actually a good idea, and Harry had to grit his teeth not to start a fight out of spite. “Of course. I’ll call your friends as soon as breakfast is over.”

Teddy jumped up, unable to contain his excitement. “This is going to be so much fun!”

* * *

No one was having fun.

It had started off well enough: parents dropped off their kids, who were all happy to have a day to play in the snow with their friends. The parents had seemed positively thrilled to be rid of their children for the day, with more than one of them explaining how many things they had to get done before Christmas.

Harry and Draco got them all dressed in their winter gear, ski trousers and all, something which turned out to be quite difficult without magic. Once the kids were dressed, and then undressed again to go to use the toilet and then redressed, Harry and Draco let them loose to play outside in the white fluffy snow.

In retrospect, they might have agreed to invite far too many kids over. Not a single one of them was unable to come, so they had wound up with nearly his entire class, ranging in age from five to six years old. Harry could admit to himself that they hadn’t really thought it through, but he wasn’t about to admit defeat in front of Draco.

It had started off well enough. They began building a snowman. That would have been fine, except there were too many kids and some felt left out and at least two of them had started crying. Draco seemed perfectly content to let Harry handle any of the unhappy children, so Harry had tried to mitigate that disaster by suggesting they build an army of snowmen. That had calmed things down for a bit, until Jackson, who reminded Harry just a bit too much of a younger, Scottish Draco Malfoy, had insulted Zoe’s snowman.

Then, the snowball fight started. And kids got hit in the face or on the back of the head, and there were more tears. This time, even Draco jumped in to try to calm some of the kids down. It was escalating quickly, going from a couple of kids crying to, at some point, nearly all the kids crying or pouting. And Teddy was a mess. The lack of sleep, the pure sugar breakfast, and the overstimulation with so many friends over turned out to be a recipe for disaster. He was being mean to his friends and then crying about them being mean to him in turn. It was all so unlike Teddy that both Harry and Draco had found themselves baffled with how to deal with it. Easy-going, happy Teddy was nowhere to be found that morning.

When Sally, a curly-haired girl who reminded Harry an awful lot of Hermione, had stopped trying to direct the other children and burst out into tears herself, he realised he needed to rein this in.

“Okay! How about a hot chocolate break?” Harry announced. He hoped that some hot beverages and sitting down in a warm house would help settle everyone down for a few minutes.

“I don’t want hot chocolate! I want to go home,” Sally sobbed from the ground beside Harry. She’d crumpled on the ground a few minutes ago, flopping onto her back and dropping her arms to her sides, resembling a pink starfish in her bright snowsuit. She’d seemingly given up on life.

“Me too,” Jackson said from where he’d been pouting next to his snowman that had been pushed over by Zoe, who was standing nearby, arms crossed, glaring at the lot.

“Erm—okay,” Harry said, looking around to take stock of the very unhappy bunch. “Who wants to go home? Raise of hands.”

Everyone raised their hands but Max. He was still wandering in circles making some sort of design in the snow, remaining completely oblivious to the chaos that had ensued.

Harry sighed and looked at Draco. He was holding Teddy, who was hiccuping between cries. For once, the man didn’t look smug. His hair was sticking out in several directions. He shrugged at Harry as Teddy let out another wail.

Harry sighed. “Okay. Why don’t we all go inside and get warm? I’ll call your parents.”

Getting the kids out of their snowsuits and ski trousers proved no easier than getting them into them. Fortunately, Harry had phone calls to make and Draco didn’t know how to work a Muggle phone.

* * *

All Harry wanted to do was lay down and have a nap. Teddy, on the other hand, had flat out refused, insisting that six-year-olds don’t take naps. Apparently, that was for five-year-olds. While Harry knew he had, in fact, mostly grown out of them the previous years, if there was ever a day that he needed one that was it.

Eventually, they gave up.

Harry insisted on fixing dinner, though, ensuring that there would be no sugar anywhere near that table. He’d got out the healthiest looking casserole of the lot, something with lots of veggies and what looked like chicken and followed the instructions for reheating. Fortunately, Teddy ate his dinner without too much fuss. He’d been hungry enough to only pick out a few of the greenest vegetables.

Harry finished another bite and checked his watch again. He needed the day to be over and, most importantly, for Teddy to get some sleep. Draco looked equally as exhausted on the other side of the table, picking through his food slowly.

“What’s for dessert?” Teddy asked after pushing his plate away.

“No dessert tonight,” Harry said, firmly. He was far too tired to argue, but he knew they had to cut the sugar.

“You always let me have dessert!” Teddy said.

“Not tonight, Teddy. You’ve already had too much sugar today.”

Teddy huffed and narrowed his eyes. “You’re no fun. Draco will let me have dessert.”

Harry stifled a sigh and decided at that moment that he was going to bed early and letting Draco deal with the rest of the night.

“Absolutely not,” Draco said. Harry looked up, surprised. 

“What?” Teddy exclaimed, clearly confused that his tactic hadn’t worked. “But that’s no fair!”

Draco continued to eat his meal, not paying Teddy any mind, which apparently was too much for the exhausted child, who looked at his cousin with increasing anger etched across his face.

“You’re supposed to be the fun one! You give me chocolate!” Teddy yelled at Draco.

Harry couldn’t suppress a snort, which only made Teddy angrier as he turned on Harry.

“You’re no fun!” Teddy yelled and got up so fast his chair fell backwards. “It’s Christmas, and we’re supposed to have fun!”

Harry caught it with his seeker reflexes. “That’s enough, Teddy.”

“You’re no fun! You’re supposed to be fun!” he yelled, face turning red.

Harry braced himself for another meltdown, expecting that once again he was going to have to be the bad guy for the night, but then Draco stood up.

“Bed, now.” Draco pointed at the doorway.

“It’s not my bedtime yet!” His face scrunched up and the tears started flowing. He balled up his hands in fists and stomped on the floor. “I hate you! I hate both of you!”

“Teddy. We know you are upset right now and you are tired, but it is not okay to talk to us like that,” Harry said, trying to keep his voice calm.

Teddy was now sobbing, still standing ramrod straight, looking like a spring holding too much tension. Merlin, Harry and Draco had really fucked this up. Teddy was clearly past the point of being able to control his emotions. Harry looked up at Draco and caught his eye. Draco’s lips were pressed together and he clearly had also had enough.

“Okay, Teddy. I think it’s time to get to bed,” Harry stood up and put his hand on Teddy’s shoulder.

Teddy turned and pushed over the chair with a surprising amount of force. “No! I’m not going to bed and you can’t make me!”

Before Harry could even register what just happened, Draco cut Teddy off. “That is enough, Edward!” 

Teddy froze, looking at Draco through puffy red eyes.

Harry was still working through how sideways this whole week was going. Teddy was never like this. He was a kid, sure, and occasionally threw small fits about things, but he’d been through true temper tantrums by the time he was four. Andromeda wouldn’t have tolerated anything less, which Harry finally realised was the point. She set boundaries. Harry felt a creeping shame at the thought that they were the reason Teddy was falling apart and miserable.

“That’s enough,” Draco repeated, more calmly. “Right now, it’s time for you to go to bed and get some sleep. And tomorrow we are going to have new rules.”

Teddy started to protest and looked to Harry, but Harry held up his hand.

“No. Draco is right,” Harry said, firmly. “It’s time for bed, and tomorrow morning when everyone has had some sleep, we’ll talk about how this week is going to go from now on.”

Teddy looked back at Draco, who simply nodded at Harry’s words. He sniffled loudly and a few more tears ran down his face, but he didn’t continue to yell. Harry wanted to wrap him up in a hug and make it okay, but he knew this could only be fixed with sleep.

“Okay, come on Teddykins, let’s get you ready for bed.” Harry put his hand back on his shoulder, but Teddy jerked away and ran off to his bedroom, crying loudly.

“Well, we’ve fucked this up thoroughly,” Draco said, sighing.

Harry nodded. “Do you want to read the book tonight?” he offered.

Draco’s lips curved into a smile. “Oh sure, Potter. Now that you’re tired, I can do the reading.”

Harry laughed and shoved Draco lightly, eliciting a laugh from the other man, as he headed up to Teddy’s room. Maybe they could figure it all out after all.

* * *

Harry collapsed on the sofa, leaning his head back.

“How do people do this every day?” he asked.

“You mean parents?” Draco asked. Harry felt the cushions shift as Draco sat on the other end of the sofa.

“Parents, grandparents, guardians, whoever. Kids are exhausting,” Harry said, shutting his eyes and enjoying the first moment of quiet they’d had the entire day.

Draco huffed a laugh. “I have a feeling that parents know better than to let their children live off sugar and no sleep.”

Harry laughed. “Merlin, we have no idea what we’re doing, do we?”

“I like to think of it as we’re still learning,” Draco said. Harry could hear the smile in his voice.

“Well, we’ll just do better tomorrow then,” Harry said, before sitting up and wedging himself in the corner of the sofa so that he was turned toward Draco. The man’s hair was falling softly over his forehead, far softer and more dishevelled than he normally styled it.

“What?” Draco asked, pushing his hair back. “It’s been a rough day.”

“No. It looks good,” Harry said, flushing a bit at the honesty. He was too tired to filter out his thoughts at the moment.

“Oh,” Draco said, a flush creeping up his face.

Harry cleared his throat. “So, thanks for backing me up today at dinner.”

“I’m not completely incompetent with him,” Draco said, lips thinning. “I wasn’t going to support that kind of behaviour.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just meant that it seems to work better when we work as a team,” Harry said.

“Oh. Yes, well he was really starting to play us like a violin wasn’t he?” Draco said, his lip quirking up into a smile. “I think we might have a Slytherin on our hands.”

Harry laughed. “So he’s a Slytherin when he’s a complete nightmare? Sounds about right. What about when he’s normally well behaved with Andromeda?”

Draco grabbed a throw pillow and smacked Harry with it. “That is not what I’m saying. I’m just saying the little bugger got us competing against each other.”

“Yeah, he did. What’s that say about us, though, that we were outsmarted by a six-year-old?”

“Well, I’m sure that’s not so surprising for you, but I must have been distracted, had my guard down.”

“Bullshit,” Harry laughed. “You just couldn’t stand the idea of him liking me better.”

“Oh, and you’re any better.  _ ‘Oh, Teddy, what if I make pancakes with ten gallons of chocolate? Will I be your favourite then? _ ’” Draco sat up straight and did a terrible impersonation of Harry.

“Sod off! I don’t sound like that!” Harry said, laughing. “Plus, you didn’t seem to mind.”

“No, those pancakes were actually amazing,” Draco said, relaxing back onto the sofa.

“I don’t even know how you ate them. They were so sweet that I was sick to my stomach for an hour after,” Harry said with a sigh, stomach hurting at the mere thought.

Draco burst out laughing. “Are you telling me you made pancakes you couldn’t even eat just to make him happy?”

“I really want to argue that I didn’t, but…” Harry shrugged with a sheepish smile.

“We’re ridiculous. No wonder Teddy was so happy to have us watch him.”

“No wonder Andromeda hadn’t let us until now,” Harry added.

“Fair point. I’d always thought she was being overprotective, but it seems she may have had a good reason.”

“I’d thought the same,” Harry admitted. “And it makes sense, you know, with…”

Draco nodded, his expression turning serious. “She’s lost a lot.”

“She has,” Harry agreed. “I know I’ve lost people, but losing a child and a spouse just seems…”

“So much worse,” Draco finished quietly.

Harry could see clear empathy on his face. It reminded him that he didn’t really know Draco anymore. He’d suffered a lot of loss now too: his parents, his future, in many ways.

“I think she worries about me,” Draco said.

Harry tried to mask the surprise on his face that Draco would share something like that so openly. Granted they were both exhausted, and Harry knew his own guard was down, as well. He just didn’t have the energy to censor himself. Harry knew that what Draco said was true, also. Andromeda didn’t talk much about Draco in front of Harry, knowing their ongoing animosity, but when she did, he could always see the concern on her face.

“She does,” Harry agreed.

Draco looked over at him.

“I just know from the way she talks about wanting you to come over. And the way she yells at me if I say anything bad about you,” Harry added.

Draco snorted. “She does the same for you.”

Harry laughed. “Well, that’s good to know. Merlin, that woman is patient with us.”

Draco nodded. “It’s been—” He cleared his throat. “It was really hard… after my mother… not having anyone. Andromeda was so great, even after everything my family put her through. She was right there.”

Harry nodding, understanding loss well, himself. “She’s been there for me too. The Weasleys have basically adopted me at this point, but having her and Teddy, having this other family I also feel like I’m a part of…”

Draco glanced at Harry. “I know this is just one thing in a long list, but how I was about your parents when we were young… I had no idea.”

“It’s fine,” Harry said, his chest tightening at the reminder. He knew that Draco understood now, and he knew that the man had actually changed quite a bit, not only from what Harry had seen but from Teddy and Andromeda. But Harry was far too tired to rehash all their years of baggage.

“It’s not, though. I’m really sorry. It’s—well, it’s one of the many things that keeps me awake at night these days.” Draco swallowed audibly.

“Hey,” Harry said, turning to him. “Look. You’re right. It’s not fine. You were a grade A shit of a child. But you’ve been through a lot since then, and from where I stand you came out the other side a much better person.”

Draco nodded and cleared his throat. “So, now that that’s out and I’ll lie awake in embarrassment at my open display of emotion, let’s change the topic.”

Harry laughed. “Oh yes, the hysterics. How could I possibly let those go.”

Draco laughed a wet laugh, clearly still fighting back a few tears. “Fuck off.”

“I generally expect dinner first,” Harry replied, the banter coming easily.

Draco let out a startled laugh. “Oh yes, I’ve seen the Prophet. A different person every month it seems,” Draco teased, with a glint in his eye.

“That is not— I haven’t—” Harry sputtered, before crossing his arms. “They don’t tend to work out.”

Draco laughed harder at his reaction but then gave him a small smile. “At least you can get dates, I suppose.”

Harry huffed. “I’m not sure it’s as great as you think. Half of them turn out to be just dating me for my fame. The last guy turned out to be a polyjuiced reporter.”

Draco’s eyes widened. “How did you find out?”

“Well the not so well hidden Quick Quotes Quill under the table was the first giveaway,” Harry replied, wryly.

“Wait, he tried to take notes while you were at dinner?” Draco asked, incredulously.

“Yep.”

“What an idiot.” Draco burst out laughing. “I can beat that though.”

“Worse than a polyjuiced date?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Absolutely. My last date was a little older, but I thought, eh, we’re adults,” Draco started. “So, we get into dinner and he keeps asking about my family. I thought that was weird, at first. And then I got concerned that he was out for revenge or something.”

“Was he?” Harry asked.

“Nope. He’d been some years younger than my father at Hogwarts and had an unrequited crush and thought I’d be the next best thing,” Draco said.

“No! You’re kidding me,” Harry said.

“So, I win.” Draco smiled widely.

“That’s—” Harry shuddered, partially just from imagining anyone carrying a torch for Lucius Malfoy for that long. He didn’t want to say more, though, since his father was likely to be a loaded topic for Draco.

“Wait. I can actually beat that though.” Harry sat up straight. This was a good one.

“No way, Potter.”

“So, I met this witch at a charity event that Hermione had dragged me to. Seemed totally normal,” Harry said. “So we spend the evening talking, and I think, this is great! I actually met someone. So I ask her out on a date, and she says yes.

“I go to her house to pick her up, since well… I don’t like people knowing where I live.”

Draco nodded.

“So I Floo to her house and walk right into a Binding ceremony. She decided we were getting married on the spot and had a whole ritual started.”

“What the fuck!” Draco exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“I know!” Harry replied, gesturing with his hand at the insanity of it all. “There were candles everywhere, she had out some old dusty leather tomes, and all the windows were covered.”

“Damn.” Draco whistled low.

“Oh! And the photos of me. There were pictures in a circle in the middle of whatever she was doing,” Harry said, remembering the scene vividly.

“What did you do?” Draco asked.

“Well I apparated out of there before she could even say a word,” Harry said. It really was no wonder he was still single. He broke out in a sweat every time he thought about getting back out there at that point.

“Okay. That’s an objectively terrible date,” Draco said.

“Yeah, I filled out an Auror report and everything. She’s not allowed anywhere near me.”

Draco sat back and looked at the wall, seemingly still processing the whole thing.

“So, I guess I win then?” Harry asked with a smirk.

“Merlin. Yes, you win.” Draco laughed. “Fuck, I thought it was bad dating as an ex-Death Eater. Who would have thought the Saviour had it worse?”

“Yep. Both of us are clearly doomed to be single for life,” Harry said, not feeling as terrible about it as he usually did.

Draco gave him a smile. “I suppose I could do worse for the company in this.”

Harry returned the smile, surprised at how much he was enjoying the company himself.

Draco stretched his arms over his head. “What do you say we get some of that hot chocolate that the gaggle of sobbing children didn’t want earlier?”

Harry let out a laugh and leaned forward. “Race you to the kitchen.”

“You’re on,” Draco said, immediately elbowing Harry out of the way, both of them laughing.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry slowly awoke, a pain shooting down his neck in its cramped position. He opened his eyes to a view of a blurry sitting-room; they must have fallen asleep while talking the previous night, tired as they were. His head was propped against the arm of the sofa, legs stretched out and tangled with Draco’s, curled up tightly on the other end. It appeared Harry had claimed most of the sofa. He patted his jeans for his glasses and then stretched over the side, careful not to wake Draco, as he felt around on the floor until he found them. Putting them on, he saw Draco in what could only be described as a highly uncomfortable position, head propped up over the edge of the opposite arm and shoulder crammed into the corner.

Harry slowly extricated himself. Draco huffed and stretched out as more real estate became available. Even though the awkward position couldn’t have lent itself to a good night’s rest, he looked peaceful. Harry found himself staring for a minute too long and then shook his head slightly, reminding himself that staring at people while they were sleeping was creepy. As Draco stretched out fully, still asleep, Harry grabbed the afghan off the sofa back and covered him up. He might as well let him get a little more sleep.

He went to check on Teddy next, cracking the door open slowly. The house was filled with dull grey light, so it was still early. Teddy was still asleep, likely playing catch-up after the previous night and the exhausting day he’d had. He, too, looked peaceful. Harry took a minute just to watch him sleep, feeling it was far less inappropriate to do with a child than a full-grown man that he’d only just started to get to know. This was the Teddy that Harry was used to seeing, calm and untroubled.

Teddy made a snuffling sound in his sleep and pulled his teddy bear tighter. Harry felt his chest constrict. The guilt of how terribly irresponsible Draco and he had been was sitting heavy with him that morning. Watching this child that he loved with all his heart, that he was privileged enough to call his godson, basically become an absolute nightmare over the past two days was a wake-up call. It was all well and good to be the spoiling godfather, or cousin, in Draco’s case, when they only saw him once a week, at most.

Harry wanted to give him the world. He wanted Teddy to never want for anything in his life and have everything he deserved, everything Harry had often been denied in his own childhood. But he realised that meant also having structure and making sure that Teddy was taken care of in other ways.

Harry mentally promised Teddy that he’d do better.

Just as Harry turned to head to the kitchen and start breakfast, Teddy made a muffled noise and stretched. Harry turned back and watched him blink himself awake, still holding his teddy bear tightly, his quidditch pyjamas twisted around his torso as he sat up.

“Harry?” Teddy asked, with a yawn.

“Hey, Teddykins. Did you sleep well?” Harry walked over and sat at the end of his bed.

“Mhmm. Where’s Draco?” he asked.

“He’s sleeping on the sofa. Do you think you can be really quiet so we don’t wake him?” Harry asked, knowing that might be a big ask even when Teddy was in a good mood.

Teddy nodded, eyes wide. “Of course.”

Harry smiled. “Do you want to make breakfast with me? We can heat up one of those breakfast casseroles and cut up some fruit.”

“Can we have pancakes, again?”

“Not today, bud,” Harry said.

Teddy bit his lip. “Am I in trouble?” His eyes were wide and his bottom lip looked like it was going to start quivering.

Harry scooted over and pulled him into his arms. “No, Teddy. You aren’t in trouble at all. Draco and I really messed this up. We tried to give you everything you wanted, and we weren’t being responsible adults.”

“Responsible means no chocolate?” Teddy asked, his voice slightly muffled by Harry’s t-shirt, which his face was pushed into.

Harry chuckled. “It means you have to have healthy food and get lots of sleep and that chocolate should be a treat, not the whole meal.”

“That’s what Grandma says too. It’s only a treat,” Teddy said, pulling back to look at Harry.

“Well, your grandma is a smart woman,” Harry said.

“So does this mean no more chocolate pancakes ever?” Teddy asked, eyes wide.

“Maybe we’ll make some small ones tomorrow for Christmas morning, but only if we also have something healthy to go with it. How’s that sound?” Harry offered.

Teddy nodded.

“Now what do you say we surprise your cousin with having breakfast ready when he wakes up? You can help me,” Harry said, conspiratorially.

Teddy nodded his head quickly. “Can’t we have something chocolate though? Draco loves chocolate too.”

Harry laughed. “You’re right on that one. I’ll tell you what. What if we dip some strawberries in chocolate as a treat. We can have one each.”

Teddy broke out in a big smile, his hair darkening slightly. “Yes!”

Harry ruffled his hair and smiled.

* * *

Harry and Draco finished cleaning up after dinner while Teddy played with his dragon keepers and dragons set in the sitting room. The day had been a stark contrast to the previous one. A well-rested Teddy turned out to be an agreeable Teddy. They’d also kept his sugar intake at a reasonable amount… well maybe a slightly over reasonable amount; it was Christmas Eve after all. But it was nowhere near the nutritional disaster that the previous day had been.

On several occasions, when they did have a treat, Harry slipped Draco the leftover biscuit or chocolate to keep it out of Teddy’s hands, as the man seemed to be able to hold his chocolate just fine. Harry had the distinct feeling with every treat given, Draco got nicer to Harry too. If only Harry had known he could bribe Draco with chocolate years ago. They might have got to the point of being comfortably cordial when Teddy was a baby, even.

“Well, today went better,” Draco said, handing Harry the last clean dish to put away.

Harry reached up to place it on the top shelf of the cupboard.

“I think we’re actually figuring this out,” Harry said. “Only one small tantrum all day.”

Draco huffed a laugh. “Yes, well. I would have thrown a tantrum if you’d thrown out the rest of that melted chocolate also.”

Harry grinned. They’d compromised by dipping a few more pieces of fruit in the leftover chocolate and saving them for a dessert to go with dinner.

“What are the chances we can get him to go to bed without a fuss tonight?” Harry asked.

“Christmas Eve with the promise of Santa and gifts?” Draco laughed. “Not a chance, Potter. I don’t think I ever slept a single Christmas Eve night as a kid.”

“I imagine you got everything you ever wanted,” Harry said. He wasn’t as irritated at the thought as he might have been years ago. He knew Draco had long grown past that spoiled boy; he’d survived a war the same as Harry, regardless of his alignment at the time.

Draco nodded. “My father obviously gave me everything I asked for.”

“Obviously.”

“But my mother also used to get me little special things. Things she’d find when she’d be out shopping or when she’d travel. She’d hold on to any trinkets she found during the year and give them to me at Christmas.” Draco said, leaning back against the counter, a soft bittersweet smile playing at his lips. Ever since they’d opened up the previous night in their exhaustion, it seemed the walls had come down for Draco. Harry wondered if he had other people to talk to in his life.

Harry pulled out a chair at the table, turning it slightly and sitting so he could face Draco.

“In many ways, that was much more special than the things I’d asked for. I think it was because I knew she thought of me,” Draco continued. “When she was busy with society events or shopping for new robes, or when I was off to Hogwarts, I knew she was still thinking about me.”

Harry smiled, imagining a young Draco feeling so loved by his mother’s small trinkets. Regardless of his feelings about Draco’s family, he knew Narcissa had loved her son very much. The war had proven that at the least.

Draco cleared his throat before asking, “What about you? What was Christmas like in a Muggle household? You lived with your aunt and uncle the whole time, right?”

Harry grimaced. “I’m not sure that household would be a good gauge for normal.”

Draco raised his eyebrows. “I knew—or I heard, that is, that you weren’t close…”

“No. They thought magic was unnatural, so…” Harry trailed off.

“Did they—this probably isn’t my business, sorry,” Draco said, pressing his lips together.

“Let’s just say getting used socks for Christmas wasn’t out of the ordinary and leave it at that,” Harry replied. It didn’t really hurt anymore. Not in the way it had as a young child. But now, having Teddy in his life, he found himself even angrier that they could have ever treated a child, any child, that way.

Draco’s lips were pressed in a thin line, and he looked like he was restraining himself from saying anything else.

“It’s fine. It’s over with now.”

“It’s not fine, Harry. You have to stop saying that. That is the absolute definition of not fine, actually.” Draco ran a hand through his hair.

Harry shrugged. There was nothing to be done about it now. And his life now was infinitely better; he had the Weasleys, his friends, Andromeda and Teddy and this little makeshift family here, also, which he realised even included Draco.

Draco exhaled loudly and then turned and started rummaging through the cupboards.

“What are you doing?” Harry asked.

“Making you hot chocolate,” Draco said.

“What?” Harry asked, confused, but a small smile crept onto his face.

“It’s Christmas Eve, and we’re going to have some hot chocolate and read Teddy Christmas stories by the fire,” Draco said, his voice slightly muffled by the pantry he’d leaned into, likely rooting around for the chocolate they’d hidden earlier from Teddy when he’d tried to sneak into the kitchen to get more.

“Okay, but maybe small mugs?” Harry said, not wanting a repeat of the last night.

Draco laughed. “We’ll use Andromeda’s small fancy teacups and tell Teddy it’s tradition. Maybe go heavy on the milk, low on the chocolate too,” Draco added, giving Harry a commiserating smile.

Harry laughed. “I like it.”

A few minutes later, Draco carried a tray of the fanciest cups of hot chocolate Harry had ever seen, with little marshmallows that had been transfigured into snowflakes floating on top.

As expected, Teddy was thrilled at the allowance of more chocolate for the day, and after putting away his toys, he jumped onto the sofa, ready for his fancy teacup. Harry had cast a few protection charms on the cup, just to be safe. When Draco wasn’t looking, Harry cast one on his own as well. He didn’t want to be the one to tell Andromeda that he’d broken her fine china.

Harry added a few logs to the fireplace and lit them with his wand, the fire roaring to life immediately. He then waved his wand to put out the lights in the room, leaving only the glow from the hearth and the fairy lights from the Christmas tree in the corner of the room. They’d have to remember to get Teddy’s presents out once he fell asleep

“So, Teddy,” Harry said as he joined Teddy and Draco on the sofa. “We were thinking we could read the bedtime stories out here tonight. Have a special Christmas Eve story time?”

Teddy looked up from his teacup, a line of hot chocolate froth on his upper lip. “Can we read _The Christmas the Floos Broke_?”

Draco cast an _accio_ and the book flew into his hand a moment later. He grabbed the now-empty teacup from Teddy and placed it on the coffee table, next to his own that he’d polished off equally as fast.

“What would Christmas be without it?” Draco asked, with a smile, putting his arm up on the back of the sofa, Teddy nestling up against him.

“Harry, you have to come here too,” Teddy said, patting the spot next to him.

Harry laughed softly and took a large swig of the hot chocolate before adding it to the collection on the coffee table and scooting over the additional foot so that Teddy was sandwiched between the two of them. Deciding they might as well be as comfy as possible, Harry also grabbed the afghan from the arm of the sofa and covered all of their legs.

Draco smiled briefly at Harry and then opened the book and began to read.

The treetops glistened as Christmas Eve began;  
The elves connected the Floos, following the plan.  
Santa was ready with his giant sack of toys,  
And all around the world were excited girls and boys.

He lifted up his satchel, with a mighty, “Ho ho ho,”  
But just as he grabbed the powder, the flames went low.  
He looked back at the elves, who quickly worked their magic,  
But the flames only extinguished, elves looking up, in panic.

Santa grabbed his wand, surely he could fix the Floo;  
No wix nor muggle child would have a Christmas blue.  
Not on his watch, not this year;  
He’d do whatever necessary, have no fear!

Not spell, nor charm could fix the flame,  
And Santa huffed, trying spells of every name.  
Just as he nearly gave up, exhausted as he was,  
A child climbed through from the Land of Oz.

“Australia,” the boy corrected, his expression unimpressed.  
“I’ve been waiting for my presents, unable to rest.”  
Santa had never heard of such a strange thing happening.  
A young wizard, coming through the broken Floo? Baffling!

“The Floo seems to be broke, my young child,”  
Santa explained, crouching down as he smiled.  
“It can’t be broken, it’s Christmas Eve!”  
The boy’s eyes watered, and he began to grieve.

“I’m not sure how to fix it; I’m sorry to say.”  
Santa sighed. It was such an important day.  
The boy looked back up, his expression intent.  
“Well, I know just the thing for such an event.”

“It’s what we’re always told, by family and friends  
If you just believe, the magic to your will bends.”  
The boy faced the fire, closing his eyes with all his might.  
He breathed in heavy, seeming to put up a fight.

And then, to everyone’s absolute surprise,  
The Floo came to life in front of their eyes.  
“My boy, you’ve saved Christmas!” Santa cheered.  
He grabbed the toy sack, straightening his beard.

He crouched down to the boy, and whispered in his ear,  
“I’ll be at your home soon, don’t you fear.  
It’s time for you to go, but I promise you this,  
You’ll always know that you saved Christmas.”

Harry felt himself being soothed to sleep by the sound of Draco’s voice, his head had dropped back on the sofa. He barely registered the soft sound of the book closing.

“Harry,” Draco whispered. “Don’t fall asleep here. Santa still needs to come.”

Harry slowly opened his eyes and saw Draco smiling at him, humour in his eyes.

“I thought I was supposed to be putting Teddy to sleep with that,” Draco said.

Harry huffed a laugh, quietly so as to not wake up Teddy, who was out cold between them. “I suppose we should get this one to bed then.”

Harry pulled the afghan to the side and carefully moved far enough back that he could put his arms under Teddy’s small body, hoisting him up into his arms.

“I’ll get the presents, why don’t you put him down and go to bed,” Draco offered, heading toward Andromeda’s room and the well-hidden gifts.

Harry opened his mouth to argue that he could help, but a large yawn came out instead. “Okay, thanks.” He started toward the bedroom and then turned to Draco who was slowly creeping up the stairs. “Hey, Happy Christmas.”

Draco turned and smiled. “Happy Christmas.”

* * *

“Harry! Draco! Wake up!” 

Harry sat up quickly, heart pounding. “What? What’s wrong?” He fumbled for his wand in the dark room, quickly casting a Lumos. 

“Whazzit?” A muffled noise came from Draco on the other side of the room.

Harry pushed on his glasses to see Teddy standing by the door. 

“Santa came!” 

Harry fell back on the bed, trying to recover from the jolt of panic from being woken like that. He wondered how Andromeda hadn’t had a heart attack yet. 

“Teddy, what time is it?” Harry asked, staring up at the ceiling, the exhaustion seeping back in now that the initial alarm had passed. 

“Four-thirty!” Teddy exclaimed. 

Draco mumbled something into his pillow, sounding very disgruntled. 

“Teddy, it is the middle of the night.” Harry sighed.

“But Santa came already,” Teddy said as if that explained everything.

Harry huffed a laugh. “It’s too early, let’s go back to bed for another hour and then we can get up.”

“But Harry, Santa came,” Teddy repeated, voice turning sad. 

“Come here,” Harry said. 

When Teddy got near his bed, he scooped him up and deposited him on the bed next to him. 

“One more hour and then we promise we’ll get up with you.”

Draco mumbled something that sounded like it might have been, “Still too early.”

But Harry figured they were fighting a losing battle on that front, given that Teddy seemed to wake up by six no matter how exhausted he was. 

Teddy sighed and promptly stole Harry’s pillow. “One hour.”

Harry smiled and put out the Lumos, falling back asleep before he could even get his glasses off his face. 

* * *

“Oof.” Harry grabbed Teddy’s knee that was now firmly pressing into his kidney. He slowly pushed it back. While Teddy had actually managed to fall back asleep, it had been like trying to sleep next to an octopus, possibly one dreaming of fighting, for the amount that Harry had been kicked and elbowed.

The movement seemed to rouse Teddy and he awoke with a large yawn. “Is it time for presents?” 

Harry laughed at the boy’s single mindedness and cast a Tempus. It was a little after six, so Teddy had actually got a good amount more sleep. Harry, on the other hand, felt like he’d just been in a weird daze of a dream as every time he’d started to fall asleep more deeply, he’d been kicked awake. But he’d be back in his own bed that night, so he could sleep as long as he wanted. His chest tightened at the thought of going back to his empty house after this week. He was expected at the Weasley’s for Boxing Day, so he still had plenty of social activities on the horizon, but somehow that didn’t feel the same. Having people to wake up, to share meals with, to have lazy conversations with during the evening… it had been really nice. 

As Teddy ran off to the sitting room, yelling something incoherent about Santa, Harry rummaged through his duffle until he found his Weasley jumper from last year. He’d packed a few, just in case, but he usually wore the previous one on Christmas morning. It had become a bit of a tradition even when he just knocked around Grimmauld Place until it was time to go to the Weasleys’ for dinner. He was, of course, welcome anytime, but the noise and chaos got to be a bit much after ten hours, unused to it as he was. 

Harry left on his pyjama bottoms and pulled on the thick deep purple sweater that sported a tan sorting hat on the front. It was a bit of a strange choice, but he liked the colour. Plus, it was still better than the jumper in glittery gold with a unicorn head that he’d received the year prior to that. George had flat out asked his mum if she was running out of ideas as he opened his present to find a Doxie on his own. Molly had declared that each year was to have a theme since there were so many children and grandchildren, which Harry took as, yes, she was running out of ideas. 

Draco stretched awake, slowly sitting up. Harry rummaged for some socks in his duffle, avoiding looking at Draco. He was finding himself increasingly flustered around the man whenever he was in his pyjamas. There was something about the rumpled groggy look about him that was just so soft, felt too intimate. 

“What on earth is that?” Draco asked. 

Harry looked up to see Draco looking at his jumper. 

“It’s my annual jumper from Molly Weasley,” Harry said defensively. 

Draco held up his hands in surrender, a smile pulling at his lips. “Okay. I was just asking.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, fighting back a smile. “It’s tradition.”

Draco nodded, still smiling as Teddy came running back into the room, likely irritated they were taking so long.

“What’s tradition?” he asked.

“The annual Weasley Christmas jumper,” Harry said, pulling his out a bit so Teddy could see. 

“Oh! I need to go get mine!” Teddy went running out of the room. Teddy and Andromeda often came around with Harry on Boxing Day even when they had dinner with just themselves and Draco. 

“Oh Merlin,” Draco laughed. 

Teddy came running back in, pulling the jumper over his head while still in motion and running headlong into the door. After a yelp and a bit of tugging, he managed to get it on. Since he was still growing, he regularly got ones with his initials, needing a new one every year. This one was a warm umber with a bright gold “T”. 

“Where’s yours, Draco?” Teddy asked. 

“Oh, I don’t—” Draco started. 

Harry grinned and before Draco could finish that thought was tossing his unicorn jumper at the man. “Here you can have this one.”

Draco held it up and looked at Harry flatly. 

“Come on Draco, it’s tradition,” Harry said, smiling widely. 

“I think I’ll pass on this tradition,” Draco replied with a laugh.

“Draco! It’s a tradition! You have to.” Teddy grabbed the jumper out of his hands and tried to put it on the man himself, with little success.

“Teddy wait! Ouch, what are you—” 

Harry shook with laughter watching Teddy climb on Draco while simultaneously trying to pull the jumper over his head. He was pretty sure that was the armhole stretching around the top of Draco’s head. 

“Teddy, stop.” Draco laughed. “Fine, you win, you win. But let me do this myself. My goodness.”

Teddy finally relented, sitting back on the bed and watching Draco intently. 

When Draco finally extricated himself from the wool, his hair was full of static, sticking nearly straight up, which caused Teddy to shriek for glee and try to touch it. 

“For Merlin’s sake, Teddy,” Draco said, with a laugh, leaning away from the child’s grabby hands. 

After a minute, Draco finally managed to get the jumper on properly and cast a spell at his hair, which Harry and Teddy both were disappointed to see tamed it quite well, all traces of static gone. Harry couldn’t help but like it when Draco was just a little less buttoned-up, a little dishevelled. 

Just as Teddy started to pout that Draco’s hair was no longer fun, asking him to make it funny again, Harry stood up. 

“Are we ready for presents?” Harry asked. 

Teddy’s previous goal abandoned, he jumped up with a hoot and ran for the sitting room. Harry took a fleeting glance at Draco, who was sitting on his bed still yawning and tried to fight back a flush from seeing the man wearing Harry’s jumper. Somehow, the man even made the shimmering gold yarn that Molly had been so excited to try that year look good. Harry cleared his throat. 

Presents. It was time to focus on presents and Teddy and Christmas morning.


	4. Chapter 4

The fairy lights twinkled and the firelight cast a warm glow on the sitting room as Teddy ran to the tree with glee. Harry leaned against the wall just inside the sitting room, taking a moment to enjoy the moment. He watched Teddy excitedly dig through the presents, shouting out in excitement every time he found one addressed to him. 

Draco had dragged himself into the room and immediately laid down on the sofa, stretching out. He looked like it was only a matter of minutes before he would be completely unconscious again. 

“Harry! Look at all the presents from Santa!” Teddy started pulling out all the gifts with his name on them, making himself a pile. 

“I see, Teddy,” Harry said, smiling. 

The week might have started off rough, but this moment was perfect. It was all the sweeter for all the struggles they’d gone through for the past five days, with Harry and Draco learning how to be responsible caretakers and Teddy learning that they weren’t only there for his every whim. Harry knew he’d still spoil his godson in the future; he just couldn’t help it. But he also hoped that going forward, he’d be able to provide Teddy with some structure, to be an adult that he could learn to look up to. He also really hoped that Andromeda would trust them with Teddy again for longer stays. This week had been special.

Harry glanced at Draco who, expectedly, was now snoring lightly, an arm thrown over his eyes. Harry wondered if this week would permanently change things between the two of them. He hoped so. It would be nice to be able to spend more time with Andromeda and Teddy without trying to avoid the man, certainly. But Harry also wondered if they might be able to be friends after this. He was surprised at how much he wanted that to be the case.

Teddy finished making his pile of presents and then started pulling out other gifts. “Draco! Here’s one for you!”

Teddy dropped a present on Draco’s stomach and went back to the tree, half climbing under it to find more presents. 

Draco startled awake. “What?”

Harry snorted. “Teddy’s gathering the presents for us.”

“Oh, right. Presents.” Draco sat up, looking not entirely awake, grabbing his present at the last moment before it toppled off his body. 

“Harry, here’s some for you.” Teddy gathered far too many presents in his arms, walking over to Harry before dropping them in a pile at his feet. 

“What? These can’t all be for me,” Harry said with a frown. 

“They all say ‘Harry’,” Teddy said, going back to the tree and pulling out more. 

“This must be some sort of a mistake, Teddy.” Harry sifted through the gifts. There was one present from Andromeda with matching wrapping paper as Draco’s gift, but then there were quite a few other gifts. He opened the tag on one of the gifts to see it was from Hermione. 

“Where did these come from?” Harry asked, confused. He had just assumed they were doing their gift exchange on Boxing Day.

“Must have been Santa,” Draco said with a smile.

Harry looked at Draco flatly. 

“You had a Floo delivery last night,” Draco replied. 

Harry’s heart fluttered at the idea of Draco putting all of Harry’s presents under the tree, but then he saw Draco’s sole gift and realised that would be the only gift he’d be receiving that year, having no other family to speak of. Harry put Andromeda’s present on the nearest stuffed chair and gathered the rest, tucking them behind the chair to open later. 

“Harry, what are you doing?” Draco asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll open them later,” Harry said, coming around the front of the chair and grabbing the single gift from the seat before sitting down. 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Draco rolled his eyes. “I can only imagine the reasons you just came up with for why you can’t open them, but let me tell you they are all absurd.”

Harry shrugged but didn’t move to get the presents.

“Unless you think there’s something embarrassing in there, in which case I absolutely insist you open them all immediately,” Draco said, eyes lighting up.

Harry laughed. “Bugger off. There’s nothing embarrassing.” That was probably true, at least. 

Draco flicked his wand and sent all the presents around the chair to right in front of Harry. “Open your damn presents, Potter.” Draco gave him a warm smile, and Harry decided that the following Christmas he’d make sure that at least one more present was added to Draco’s pile. 

“Can I open them now?” Teddy asked, pulling Harry out of his thoughts. Teddy was standing over his pile, hands on his hips, practically vibrating with excitement. 

Harry laughed. “Go ahead.”

Teddy shrieked in excitement and grabbed a present off the top, sending wrapping paper flying. Harry glanced back at Draco who was watching Teddy with a small smile playing at his lips. He stared for a beat too long. Draco’s eyes flicked over to Harry, and he rose an eyebrow. Harry flushed and focused back on Teddy. 

Over the past day, Harry had started to recognise the embers of a growing crush, an obviously ill-advised crush as they’d only just begun to get along. Harry tried to remind himself that he was just feeling particularly sappy after watching the man take care of Teddy all week. And if his eyes sparkled when he laughed at Teddy’s excitement, it was likely just the fairy lights. And he was probably just feeling desperate, from the sad event his dating life had turned out to be. No need to jeopardise their newfound friendship with a passing fancy. 

So, Harry pushed down the thoughts as best he could. He tried to not stare too much when Draco helped Teddy into his new Christmas jumper that Molly must have sent over with Harry’s presents. Then, he tried not to flush too deeply when Draco watched him open his own presents. And reminded himself to get a grip when Draco and Teddy wrestled for an unclaimed candy cane that had fallen off a present, both of them laughing until they were red in the face. 

Really, Harry had it under control. 

* * *

“Harry, hand me that bottle. No, the bay leaves.” Draco sighed and leaned over where Harry was chopping potatoes to grab the right bottle after Harry had made a move for the marjoram. 

They’d got a bit of a late start, but with a bit of magic, they thought they just might pull this off. Harry and Draco had decided to abandon the last casserole, as not one of the three of them could so much as stand to look in the direction of another casserole after that week. Instead, they were going to surprise Andromeda with a proper Christmas turkey. Fortunately, Draco knew several spells that would speed up the cooking, and Harry knew of a Muggle grocery store near London that was open on Christmas. 

So, they’d got the ingredients and, in a frenzy, were attempting a full Christmas dinner. Teddy had tried to help at first but after he’d knocked over a few too many bowls of ingredients, they decided it was best that he go play with his new toys while Draco and Harry finished the meal. There’d be time for cooking lessons later.

Andromeda was due home in an hour and they still had quite a lot left to do, including getting the turkey in the oven. Harry was sceptical they could get a whole turkey cooked in an hour, but Draco insisted his spells would get the job done. 

Draco was currently leaning over one of Andromeda’s cookbooks, mouthing the words as he read the directions for the roast turkey. “There has to be a magic way to do this,” he finally said, picking up the book and looking at the back cover as if the answer would be there.

“Magic way to do what?” Harry asked as he spread out the potatoes on a baking sheet, sliding them into the oven. 

“Put this in that,” Draco said, looking horrified as he pointed at the stuffing and the turkey. 

Harry snorted. He’d done it a few times as a child, but he’d been going to the Weasleys’ since, so if there was a spell for stuffing a turkey, he didn’t know it. 

Draco continued flipping through the book. “No, seriously. What’s the spell? You cook a lot, right?”

“I don’t cook that often, and I definitely don’t know a turkey stuffing spell,” Harry said with a laugh. “You’re on your own for this.”

Draco poked the hole on the end of the turkey, looking like he’d rather give up the whole idea. 

“It’s not that bad,” Harry said. “Just grab a handful and shove it in.”

Draco looked up at Harry and then back at the turkey. “I think you should do this. I’ll do whatever the next thing is.”

“You insisted you’d take care of the turkey,” Harry reminded him. “I’m making mince pies, which I distinctly remember you looking at the recipe for and saying that looked too complicated so I could handle it.”

“I don’t know how to make pastry dough.” Draco waved in Harry’s general direction where he was starting to put the ingredients together in a bowl.

“Well, then I think you are on your own,” Harry said, trying to keep himself from looking too entertained by the whole ordeal. 

Draco huffed and turned to face the turkey, determination on his face. “So I just shove it in there?”

“I think that’s the idea, yeah,” Harry replied, biting his lip to keep from laughing.

“For Merlin’s sake. I hope you appreciate this, Potter.” Draco grabbed a handful of the stuffing with one hand and held the turkey with the other. As he got to the opening and started to shove his hand in, he closed his eyes tight and made a high pitched sound of disgust. 

Harry couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing. “Oh my god. It’s not going to kill you.”

“It’s raw poultry, Harry. I don’t think you understand how disgusting this is.” Draco pulled out his hand, looking white as a sheet before grabbing another handful. 

“I’ve seen you cut up bat spleen for potions!” Harry laughed. “How is that not worse?”

“I didn’t have to shove my hand up the bat’s bum!” Draco exclaimed, stuffing another handful in. 

“So, you’re not much for bum stuff, then?” Harry asked before he could help himself. 

Draco spun to look at Harry, eyebrows raised, and then a laugh startled out of him. “I’ll have you know this is very different.”

Harry shook with laughter at Draco’s rising indignation. 

“I do just fine in the bedroom, thank you!” Draco grabbed a towel off the counter and snapped it at Harry.

Harry jumped back, the towel missing him, and grabbed a small handful of flour off the counter, tossing it Draco and hitting him right in the face. 

Draco stood frozen for a moment and Harry worried he’d gone too far—this friendship of sorts still so new. 

But then Draco puffed out a breath, sending a cloud of flour out from his face. “Oh, you’re going to so regret that.” He rubbed the flour off his face and broke out into a mischievous grin. He grabbed his water glass off the counter and tossed the contents at Harry, who wasn’t able to jump out of its path fast enough. 

Harry gasped in surprise as the water soaked through his jumper and then grabbed his own glass of water. Ingredients started flying, the flour mixing with the water on both of them and creating a particularly sticky situation in Harry’s hair. Draco scanned the room and started toward the other end of the counter. Harry saw the giblets that Harry had pulled out of the turkey earlier, much to Draco’s horror. Before he could reach them, Harry grabbed him around the waist and pulled him to the other side of the kitchen, both of them gasping for air between laughs. 

“Absolutely not!” Harry exclaimed, pinning him against the wall.

Draco shook with laughter. “I thought you said it wasn’t that gross earlier.”

“I don’t want them in my hair!” Harry laughed and slowly backed off, keeping a hand on the other man’s chest to keep him from escaping back to the counter. 

Draco huffed out a few more laughs as he caught his breath, a large smile on his face. He had flour in his hair, nearly indistinguishable from his already light blond strands. Harry was sure his own looked far more ridiculous. 

Harry found himself staring at the man, not for the first time in the past few days. Draco’s eyes were crinkled in the corners, pure joy written on his face. Harry wasn’t sure he’d ever seen him so free and happy; he looked beautiful. Draco’s eyes flicked up to Harry’s and the laughter settled down. Harry could feel the tension in the air and wondered if it was possible that he wasn’t the only one whose feelings had been shaping into something new that week, something that could possibly be beyond friendship. 

Before Harry could get much farther from that thought, there was a creak in the flooring and Harry pulled back quickly, seeing Teddy standing in the entryway to the kitchen. 

“Whoa—You’re going to be in so much trouble with Grandma,” Teddy said as he looked around the mess in the kitchen. 

Harry cleared his throat and let out a nervous laugh. “We’ll clean it up, Teddy. Don’t worry. We just, erm— had a few issues with the recipe.”

“Don’t worry, Teddy. We just have a little more to do for dinner,” Draco said, moving away from the wall. 

Teddy looked at them in disbelief, eyes wide, before he slowly turned back to the sitting room and all his new Christmas toys. 

Draco straightened out his clothes, not making eye contact with Harry. He seemed distinctly uncomfortable, and Harry felt his stomach drop, realising his previous thoughts might not have been as mutual as he’d wondered for that fleeting moment. 

Harry felt his face flush in embarrassment. He’d probably made his thoughts a little too obvious. He’d often been told he broadcast his feelings clearly on his face, unable to hide them particularly well. He pulled out his wand and cast a cleaning charm on himself as Draco was doing the same on the other side of the room. They cleaned up the kitchen in silence. 

Eventually, Harry started talking about what they needed to do still, trying to break the tension. Draco seemed to let out a sigh of relief, joining in on the safe conversation. By the time the turkey went into the oven, things were almost back to normal. Almost. Harry still felt his heart tighten whenever he looked at the man, but he’d suffered disappointment before and he’d survive it again.

* * *

The Floo roared to life in the sitting room, and Harry heard Teddy shriek with joy at the arrival of his grandmother. He finished setting the last few glasses on the table, as Draco took the turkey out of the oven; he’d been correct that his spells cooked the turkey just in time. To Harry’s relief, they had settled into a comfortable routine as they finished the meal, any remaining awkwardness falling away. After the week they’d had, Harry would have been beyond disappointed if he lost the seeds of this new friendship. 

Harry helped Draco levitate the last of the food to the table, giving the man a small smile as he took in the table. They’d managed to find Andromeda’s holiday linens, and Teddy had helped them decorate the table with Christmas centrepieces of pine and berries, candles fitting neatly at their centre. Once the food was all arranged, Harry lit the candles with his wand and turned just as Andromeda entered the kitchen.

“What is this?” Andromeda asked, a large smile breaking out on her face. “You made Christmas dinner?” She looked back and forth between the two of them and then walked over, enveloping them both in a hug. Harry awkwardly wrapped his one arm around her back, trying to ignore the press of Draco’s body against his side.

After a long moment, she released them and cleared her throat, a smile still in her eyes. “This is lovely."

“Happy Christmas,” Harry said, pulling out the chair on the end for her. 

“I helped decorate!” Teddy exclaimed, pointing at the centrepieces. 

“Did you now?” Andromeda asked.

Draco took a seat to the side of her, and Harry took the other end. 

“How was your trip?” Draco asked as he flicked his wand toward the turkey, starting the knives at carving off several pieces. 

“It was as good as could be expected under the circumstances,” Andromeda replied with a sigh. “Moira’s recovering, though. And it was nice to see her again.”

Harry grabbed the bowl of stuffing, piling some on his plate before passing it to Draco. 

“So,” Andromeda said. “Teddy was just giving me a run-down of how this week went.”

Harry froze, the bowl of stuffing still in hand. Draco also went still. 

“It sounds like both of you actually managed to set some rules. Teddy didn’t seem particularly thrilled about it,” she continued, with a glint in her eye. Teddy huffed dramatically next to her. “But I’m glad to hear that my worries were unfounded.”

Harry let out a small laugh. “Yep, we had it under control.”

Draco caught his eye, his corner of his lip curling up slightly. “Absolutely. No problems here.”

Harry focused on dishing out some cranberry sauce, trying not to laugh. He supposed as long as they got there eventually, that was what mattered in the end. 

The meal continued with laughter and stories. In the end, a few of their less shining moments came out as Teddy regaled his grandmother with his exciting week, but she simply raised an eyebrow and snorted a laugh, and they moved on. Harry found himself becoming quieter as the evening went on, letting himself just enjoy the moment. The feeling of being a part of this family was so strong, it was nearly overwhelming. He knew the Weasleys saw him as one of their own, every one of them, and he certainly felt they were family as well. But sitting around the table at the Burrow, as they reminisced about the past, sharing funny stories from their childhood, he was often reminded that there would always be this divide. He was family in the way that Hermione was, in the way someone that married into the family belonged. Which was to say fully, but never sharing the same memories. But here, in this little make-shift family that Andromeda had put together, as she had attempted to slowly survive the family she’d lost, Harry felt complete. He decided at that moment that he may be spending more Boxing Days at the Weasleys’ and more Christmases at Andromeda’s. 

Once everyone was too full and the conversation had wound down, Harry and Draco insisted on cleaning up. Andromeda gave them both a kiss on the cheek and sat at the table as Teddy brought in his new gifts, showing them to her one at a time. As the kitchen began to resemble its usual sparkling self and the night came to its natural end, Harry felt a tug in his chest, wishing he could bottle up this moment. He doubted that even a pensive memory would replicate it. 

“I suppose I should probably get going then,” Harry said, wiping his hands on a small towel.

“Noooo,” Teddy whined. “Just a little bit longer.”

“It’s nearly your bedtime,” Harry said. 

“I don’t want them to leave,” Teddy said, looking at Andromeda imploringly. 

“They have their own houses and lives too, Teddy,” Andromeda said, before turning to Harry and Draco. “Thank you both so much for watching Teddy this week. I don’t know what I would do without you two.”

“It was absolutely our pleasure,” Draco said, ruffling Teddy’s hair. 

Teddy pleaded a bit more, and it took Harry all of his strength to not just agree and stay there forever. He knew that wasn’t actually an option, but he wanted nothing more than to freeze this moment in time. 

Eventually, Teddy settled down, and Harry and Draco were able to gather their belongings, saying their goodbyes in front of the Floo. 

“You’ll come back soon, right?” Teddy asked. 

“Of course, Teddy. You know I come by nearly every week,” Harry reminded him with a laugh, before turning and giving Andromeda a hug, promising her he’d see her soon.

“I mean both of you together,” Teddy said.

Harry glanced at Draco, who gave him a small smile and nodded.

“I think that can be arranged, Teddy.” Harry leaned down and pulled Teddy into a tight hug, before picking up his duffle and grabbing some Floo powder. He turned to Draco and nodded, giving the man a small smile. “Happy Christmas.”

“Happy Christmas, Harry,” Draco said, returning the smile. 

Harry cleared his throat and stepped through the Floo, calling out his address, and a moment later, tumbled out in his own home. 

He sighed as he walked into the dark sitting room that always seemed to smell a bit mildewy, no matter how frequently he cleaned. The house felt too big and empty. He reminded himself that he’d be at the Burrow the whole next day. By the end of that, he knew he’d be grateful for the reprieve in his quiet space. But at the moment, his heart ached with a sense of loss. He knew it wasn’t real—he’d lost nothing. He’d still see Teddy and Andromeda often enough; he was welcome over whenever he wanted, really. And he trusted that he and Draco would continue to build whatever friendship they had started that week, but none of that knowledge replaced the ache in his heart.

Not having the energy to unpack, he flopped down on the sofa, letting himself fall to the side. He stretched out on the sofa and accioed one of his Quidditch magazines. He just needed a distraction; he’d feel better in the morning. 

Just as he opened up the magazine, a knock sounded at his door. He startled at the noise and walked to the door. His friends usually Flooed now that the house was no longer under a _Fidelius._

He opened the door and was hit by a blast of cold air, colder than was typical for London. Draco stood before him, wearing a thick wool coat, a pale green scarf wrapped around his neck.

“Hi,” Harry said in surprise.

“Hi, sorry to drop in,” Draco said, shuffling nervously. “Can I come in? It’s bloody cold out here.” 

“Oh! Sorry. Of course.” Harry stood back, letting the man in. 

Once the door was shut, Draco turned to him. “I’m sorry to barge in like this, but I just needed to know—there’s something I need to do before I lose my nerve.”

Before Harry could work out what he meant, Draco stepped closer, and Harry’s breath caught in his throat. He was so close that Harry could see the small specks of blue in his eyes. 

Harry allowed his eyes to roam over Draco’s face, searching, wondering once again if he might not be the only one whose feelings had grown into something new. Hoping he’d been right earlier that evening in the Andromeda’s kitchen.

As if in answer, Draco finally moved, carefully, just a little closer at first. 

Harry’s heart fluttered, hope building as Draco slowly leaned forward and captured Harry’s lips. First tentatively, then harder, more insistent. The hope in Harry’s chest swelled to a crescendo, and a small sigh escaped his lips before he returned the kiss, his heart close to bursting. 

He relaxed into the man, slowly moving his hand to Draco’s side and pulling him just a little bit closer. Draco deepened the kiss at the movement, and Harry made a small noise that he vaguely thought he might be embarrassed for later. But now, all he could focus on was Draco. 

After a moment, and far too soon, Draco pulled back. His eyes were bright as they searched Harry’s face and a slow smile spread over his face. “Yeah?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Harry replied, returning the smile. 

“Excellent,” Draco said, leaning back in and chasing away any of Harry’s residual feelings of sadness.

Draco inched out of his scarf and coat, their lips never leaving one another’s. Harry pulled Draco deeper into his house, as he was filled with an overwhelming feeling of rightness, like a puzzle piece finally slotting into place. 

Harry had a feeling that next year, Draco would be getting far more presents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ❄ This work is part of the H/D Mistletoe winter gift exchange. If you enjoyed consider spreading the love by reblogging the reveal tumblr post: [here](https://gwbexchange.tumblr.com/post/639406103704256512/where-the-treetops-glisten-and-children-listen) ⛄


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